The Supply Chain Maestro

Warehouse management: less of a supply chain pain point now with AI.
Applied AI is sometimes confused with generative AI, but its capabilities extend beyond creating content to perform a variety of tasks that require human intelligence, such as optimizing on-floor travel in warehouses.
Scott Mullins of Lucas Systems shares four other ways applied AI has the potential to help warehouses operate more effectively, including robotic process automation for repetitive tasks.
https://www.sdcexec.com/warehousing/ai-ar/article/22914698/lucas-systems-inc-smart-practical-uses-of-applied-ai-in-warehouse-operations
BTW: Maestro says there are seven levels to AI. We are now getting to the first level.

Smart Practical Uses of Applied AI in Warehouse Operations As technology continues to advance, the synergy between human workers and Applied AI promises to redefine the standards of excellence in warehouse operations.

An action shot when I presented for the Greenville CSCMP Chapter. The talk to this tight-knit group of supply chain managers was on
using a strategic procurement model to gain competitive advantage. Good audience questions and comments.
More information here and in the comment below.
https://cscmp.org/CSCMP/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=SCA240625

You are invited to join in a dinner presentation that I will give on June 25. The topic is using a strategic procurement model to gain competitive advantage.
Supply chain professionals can help determine a procurement strategy which both ensures favorable conditions of short-term supply and eliminates long-term need of scarce and costly purchased items.
Here is the link for more info and to register:
https://cscmp.org/CSCMP/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=SCA240625
Please let me know if you would like more information.
Steve

Labor negotiations at U.S. ports on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico are causing concern for shippers amid already high costs and longer transit times. With the current contract for 45,000 dockworkers expiring on September 30, the potential for a strike during the critical holiday shopping season could significantly impact supply chains.

U.S. East Coast port union strike threat to test shippers' nerves Labor talks at U.S. ports on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico are a looming risk for retailers, manufacturers and other shippers already grappling with longer transit times and higher costs.

Ocean freight rates may hit $20,000 with no relief in sight. Spot ocean freight rates from the Far East to the U.S. popped between 36%-41% month over month, and ocean carriers increased additional charges known as general rate increases by roughly 140%. These costs have now taken ...

You are invited to join in a dinner presentation that I will give on June 25. The topic is using a strategic procurement model to gain competitive advantage.
Supply chain professionals can help determine a procurement strategy which both ensures favorable conditions of short-term supply and eliminates long-term need of scarce and costly purchased items.
Here is the link for more info and to register:
https://cscmp.org/CSCMP/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=SCA240625

Glad that Amy Sartain and Alex Albrecht of SC Logistics accepted my invite to present at the May 21st dinner meeting of the ASCM Greenville Chapter.
25 regional supply chain practitioners learned about their new business intelligence mapping tool, the SCAN program.
This industry map serves as a showcase and research tool for all South Carolina companies and workforce providers leading the way in aerospace, logistics, technology, and cybersecurity.
Dinner participants enjoyed networking with each other before the talk and during the great buffet dinner by Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.

Happy to recruit my Upstate supply chain contacts to a networking event at TopGolf. Thanks so much to Derek Scheer of GAIN Systems for hosting the fun event.

Learned a lot in the sessions of the Sustainable Manufacturing and Supply Chain Track at MX.0 SE https://www.mx0southeast.com/agenda . Thankful that Cynthia Davis and Leslie Skardon of Sustain SC assembled good presenters of leading manufacturing stakeholders to show best practices, share lessons learned, and form partnerships that benefit both economic and natural resource infrastructures.

The article below and its updated links are the most recent and comprehensive report of the impact of the Baltimore bridge collapse after the container ship collision on March 26.

Another supply chain disruption of interest, especially to the East Coast is the more than possible union port strike (see second article). This can be seen as the new Leatherman Terminal in Charleston, SC (700,000-twenty-foot-equivalent-unit) has been idle for two and a half years after it opened for business.

https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/baltimore-bridge-port-impacting-supply-chains/711539/

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/crippling-port-strike-could-hit-202247066.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIbv4NnWXi93s66WSzNvlRfstbdkdZkPMtGeH2IS_K1fUrGd18xHY-694_n3627m7MOM1dMqYlTaKWNmwlHl5FYM1MKVcBphvVZOGJ6pAru35qOHpGF_KN8rmtACmfpcSe3FEQqB8yIeJea_ZuXgzcBvRrJbUIdA5qlKTsesWftZ

Had a good audience of 30 participants, including a few C-levels, as I presented the slides I made to sell supply chain certification classes. Hope to have all three prep classes filled at Greenville Tech this October. And I can instruct the one on logistics.

Hello everyone,
If you are or will be in South Carolina on March 19th, I am inviting you to the next dinner presentation of the local ASCM Greenville Chapter.
The topic will be the dynamics of warehousing and trucking in Southeast USA.
This includes last-mile delivery capabilities, technology integration, warehouse automation, labor shortages, and infrastructure bottlenecks.
Use this link for more info – https://reg.planetreg.com/E223105444186692
Steve
thesupplychainmaestro.com

Three prep classes for supply chain certifications that I can teach and one (CTSC) that I will earn soon. See more at thesupplychainmaestro.com

To make connections to start ASCM supply chain classes and presentations, I participated at the Upstate (South Carolina) Manufacturing Network’s full partnership meeting. 40 Upstate manufacturers and public sector partners joined together to share their views on opportunities, strengths, and challenges. Very productive meeting as the manufacturers formed action teams to work together on two challenges that not one company can resolve by itself.

Great to attend the 2024 SC Automotive Summit in Greenville.
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The event attracted a diverse array of auto industry leaders and spotlighted record investment numbers and innovative technologies.
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With an annual economic impact of more than $27 billion, South Carolina is the #1 TOP EXPORTER of tires and completed passenger motor vehicles in the US.

Look forward to participating again at the MX.0 Southeast in mid-April. It returns to Greenville, SC, for the third year.
The conference and Expo bring regional manufacturers together, equipping them with the necessary lessons and network to take the steps from Industry 3.0 to 4.0.
Will hear practical and tested examples for manufacturers of different sizes and at different points in their digital transformation journey.
See more at https://www.mx0southeast.com/

Amy Sartain of SC (South Carolina) Logistics is planning for the annual Tech Talk. This year's theme is "Transportation Technologies & Trends". Learn more about the successes of 2023 and future advances for 2024 at https://www.sccompetes.org/event/sc-competes-tech-talk-24/ Or reach out to Amy, linkedin.com/in/amy-sartain, with questions. 200 attendees will learn, network, and buy.

Ecstatic to type that the business management program at Albion College asked me to make a presentation on supply chains and strategic procurement. The main class that I will present to extensively covers project management. I added five slides that reflect it. Business has been one of Albion's strongest majors for decades. So, it is an honor to serve as a guest instructor. Look forward to helping prep the next generation of transformative leaders. Go Brits and lux fiat.

My dinner presentation on supply chains and strategic procurement at Volvo Trucks in Greensboro, NC went very well.
41 audience questions and answers.
Ecstatic to post that a couple procurement leaders, a bank VP, and a MBA school professor asked me to present again.
I would also like to present for other companies and ASCM Chapters.
To help get results for companies by optimizing their supply chains.
864-315-7654

Energize Your Team. Empower Your Workforce. Work with the Supply Chain Maestro and ASCM certification. The Maestro is a certified ASCM instructor who has successfully instructed a class both in-person and through Zoom. ASCM ​is the industry authority that advances supply chains through benchmarking, performance improvement, process management and talent development. With ASCM education, you can significantly improve workforce productivity, collaboration and innovation.

The South Carolina Council on Competitiveness delivered another informative and insightful State of the Logistics Industry this week.
See more in the link below.
Advanced manufacturing and retail sectors along with population growth projections prove what a critical industry this is for the state.
Sustainability, workforce development, and training are important to continue strengthen the state's economy as a whole.
Great to connect with many logistics leaders.

LinkedIn Login, Sign in | LinkedIn Login to LinkedIn to keep in touch with people you know, share ideas, and build your career.

It’s official. Excited to post that I will give my first dinner presentation for an ASCM Chapter that is not South Carolina. The topic is "Gain Competitive Advantage Using a Strategic Procurement Model."
This model reviews both internal strategic needs and external market dynamics to both improve supply security and lower procurement costs.
It will be on October 10 in Greensboro, NC at the HQ of Volvo Trucks, North America.
Check out the event weblink - https://piedmontnc.ascm.org/meetinginfo.php?id=146&ts=1694987488&fbclid=IwAR11zE65n2-oB6YPSbwGPnWXgY9I3KldRbjSRp97RxJmnXz12kIERPryjCw
Steve
https://thesupplychainmaestro.com

After years of having magazine articles published on supply chains, presenting at ASCM chapter dinners and webinars, and providing volunteer outreach to colleges, mentees, and ASCM members,

I am very excited to publish my first website.
Please visit it at https://thesupplychainmaestro.com

Help me test it out by filling-out the fields in the brief "contact us:" webpage and-or accepting the cookie use.

As always, I look forward to sharing the supply chain light through teaching ASCM classes and helping with specific questions.

THANK YOU so much in advance.

Steve

Wrote four articles that were published in a monthly magazine for industrial and system engineers.
Article topics are inventory optimization, integrated business planning, a strategic procurement model, advanced planning & scheduling software.
Access and read them through my LinkedIn profile - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevegreene-supplychains-operations/

Mark your calendar for a free virtual supply chain conference and expo. NESCON will be on Monday October 2, 2023 - 8:45 – 2:45.

This year’s theme is “Supply Chain: Best Practices.”

Learn about the latest cutting-edge topics, trends and technology within multiple areas of the supply chain management field!

Help your organization evolve its supply chain into a true value chain. Translate innovative ideas into workable and practical solutions.

See more at https://www.newenglandsupplychainconference.org/

SCMEP (scmep.org) is further developing supply chain programs for manufacturers. A lot of their new efforts are being funded by a federal grant. The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 authorized a pilot program of awards that would allow MEP centers ($400,000 per MEP) to provide services focused on domestic supply chains, workforce development, and adoption of advanced technology upgrades. See more information using this link - https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2023/06/biden-harris-administration-awards-20-million-make-domestic-supply-chains

Participated on a very valuable webinar on the logistics industry in South Carolina. I provided good input on landed costs that callers talked about then. (So, I will likely develop and present a new PowerPoint presentation on it).

A highlight of the webinar was the new Connex database. This is an industry platform that connects all U.S. manufacturers and suppliers into a single, accurate, searchable supply-chain database. Manufacturers can quickly post and respond to needs, visualize supply chain risk, search for qualified suppliers, and instantly discover new business opportunities.

Special thanks to Miranda Craig of SCMEP.https://scmep.org/connex/

Great info and insight in the FORGE: Dollars and Cents webinar on August 3rd. The Procurement Foundry is a valuable community for procurement and supply chain professionals.

FORGE: Dollars & Sense TACKLING THE EPICENTRE OF PROCUREMENT If you want a procurement-focused, peer-led insight into trends in cost optimization, resiliency and risk management, Forge: Dollars & Sense virtual gathering is the place for you to be! Addressing the bread and butter of procurement, the event deep dives into c...

See the full article in my LinkedIn profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevegreene-supplychains-operations/

Procurement leaders can better ensure a steady supply of goods at favorable costs by using a four-step model developed by Peter Kraljic in the early 1980s. This model provides a simple yet effective framework to collect marketing and corporate data, forecast supply scenarios, identify available purchasing options, and develop individual supply strategies for important purchased item.

The model’s four steps serve as an analytical tool to improve procurement strategies in today’s world of global supply disruptions, political turbulence, and competitive markets. With a more concrete vision of how outcomes in purchase item categories impact the overall business, procurement leaders can develop and implement well-researched and strategic plans to engage important suppliers. The model shows where buyers can focus on having the most purchasing power and making the most profit.

An attitude of “just get the best deal possible” will make the buying company vulnerable to competitive pressure. By using Kraljic’s model, this company can benefit by using strategic action planning to improve partner relationships and business operations. This optimal strategy anticipates both internal strategic organizational needs and external market dynamics to improve supply security and lower procurement costs.

Steve Greene 🌎 CPIM, CSCP, CLTD - Supply Chain Instructor for APICS CPIM and CLTD ( And earned four APICS Certifications ) - Greenville Technical College | LinkedIn Writing supply chain magazine articles, instructing ASCM classes, and earning four national ASCM certifications (October 2022, April 2021, February 2020, and August 2019) shows that I am ready to join teams of other motivated staff to increase profits, add value, lower costs, and solve problems to a...

Here is the big picture slide that I used to show the need for market analysis (Step 2 of the Kraljic Model) when developing strategic procurement. You can see in the blue cloud Porter's Five Forces Model analysis which is the base for determining almost all of supply chain planning.